Ahead of Donald Trump’s West Coast fundraising swing with his VP contenders in tow, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump and his potential running mates are hellbent on selling out the American people for campaign cash every chance they get – which means the biggest question ahead of his fundraiser tonight is what he’ll offer to his ultra-wealthy donors next. Trump keeps putting the ultra-wealthy ahead of hardworking Americans, and his MAGA minions continue to desperately try to prove themselves to him by cozying up to his mega-wealthy backers and supporting his tax scam that rigged the economy for billionaires at the expense of America’s middle class. Trump’s pay-to-play politics may be a winner with billionaires and wealthy special interests – but they’ll be a loser at the ballot box with working Americans in November.”

Donald Trump is turning his veepstakes into a fundraising competition that puts the ultra-wealthy ahead of hardworking Americans.

Fox News: “VP hopefuls dueling for dollars as they show off their fundraising clout for Trump”

“As they audition for the role of Donald Trump’s running mate, potential vice presidential nominees are showing off their ability to help the former president raise much-needed campaign cash. … Closed-door fundraisers with top-dollar Republican donors appear to be the latest screen test venue for those vying to land on the GOP ticket alongside Trump, joining a list that includes teaming up with the former president at his rallies and showing up at his criminal trial in New York City in support of Trump.”

Reuters: “Senator J.D. Vance, a potential running mate for Trump who previously lived in San Francisco and worked in venture capital, will attend the event, according to a source familiar with his plans. Vance helped organize the fundraiser and was a point of contact between [David] Sacks and the Trump campaign.”

Axios: “Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a top possible VP pick for former President Trump, has spent the past six months lobbying some of the heaviest hitters in Silicon Valley to back Trump.”

Fox News: “Senator’s fundraising skill could be winning ticket for Trump’s veepstakes”

New York Times: “A financial show of force for [Tim] Scott’s group could lift his chances of being selected by Mr. Trump, who has spoken to advisers at Mar-a-Lago about which potential running mates could help the campaign raise money.”

Politico: “Trump’s vice presidential contenders have been taking aggressive steps to distinguish themselves, such as doing interviews with national news outlets, fundraising for the former president and attending his hush money trial in New York.”

Trump’s VP contenders have praised his MAGAnomics tax scam and supported Trump’s push to make it permanent.

Tim Scott: “We make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax cuts permanent.”

Doug Burgum: “I believe in these economic policies, I believe the tax bill is a great thing.”

Marco Rubio: “Overall, the Republican tax-cut bill has been good for Americans. That is why I voted for it.”

Tom Cotton: “Trump’s tax cuts helped deliver the strongest economy in recent history.”

CNBC: “Ben Carson leads prayer for tax cuts at Trump Cabinet meeting”

KOTA: “Republicans are calling President Trump’s tax plan the biggest tax overhaul in history. … Representative Kris[ti] Noem was a big part in pushing this bill.”

Fox Business: “Trump’s tax policies have worked out for all of America: Rep. Byron Donalds”

Vivek Ramaswamy on a suggestion to make permanent or expand the Trump tax cuts: “I’d go a little further, Larry, than that, to be honest with you.”

Alabama Political Reporter: “Katie Britt on Monday released a memo with her policy positions … [including] a bill to make permanent the individual tax cuts and extend the expanded standard deduction contained in President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. … a pro-growth tax reform bill reducing business tax rates, repealing the Death Tax, and making the expensing of capital assets permanent. … a bill to repeal the state and local tax deduction.”

Wesley Hunt: “I supported the 2017 Tax Reform bill.”

REMINDER: Trump has already sold out hardworking Americans for wealthy Big Oil and Gas donors.

Rolling Stone: “Oil Industry Licks Its Chops for Potential Trump Win as Climate Experts Sound Alarm”

Politico: “‘A little bold and gross’: Oil industry writes executive orders for Trump to sign”

Washington Post: “Trump rails against wind energy in fundraising pitch to oil executives”

“‘I hate wind,’ Trump told the executives over a meal of chopped steak at his Mar-a-Lago Club and resort in Florida.”

“Trump’s comments reveal how he is wooing potential donors with his long-standing hostility to wind farms and pledges to halt this form of renewable energy if he returns to office. His stance poses a potential threat to one of the linchpins of America’s clean-energy transition, according to more than a dozen Trump allies, energy experts and offshore wind industry officials.”

Bloomberg: “Donald Trump is the oil and gas industry’s undisputed top pick for the Republican presidential nomination as energy sector donors shower his candidacy with nearly 10 times the amount of money as they gave his challenger Nikki Haley.”

Washington Post: “Trump turns to oil barons to boost his White House bid”

Trump is running on an extreme and unpopular MAGAnomics agenda that would once again rig the economy for the ultra-wealthy while leaving the middle class behind.

Forbes: “Trump Tax Cuts Helped Billionaires Pay Less Taxes Than The Working Class In 2018”

CBS News: “Two years after Trump tax cuts, middle-class Americans are falling behind”

The Guardian: “They were billed as a ‘middle-class miracle’ but according to a new book Donald Trump’s $1.5tn tax cuts have helped billionaires pay a lower rate than the working class for the first time in history.”

Washington Post Analysis: “One of President Donald Trump’s lesser-known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt. The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office.”

Washington Post Analysis: “The growth in the annual deficit under Trump ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any U.S. presidential administration, according to a calculation by Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.”

Politico: “The nation’s fiscal outlook looks ever bleaker, thanks in part to deficit spending during President Donald Trump’s first term, Congress’ nonpartisan budget scorekeeper projected Tuesday.”